Symbols of Czech Christmas

When you ask Czechs to tell you spontaneously what the most typical Christmas symbols are, the decorated tree wins across the board with 56%, followed by time with family/friends (38%). Third come presents and Christmas cookies with 23% each.

What are the essential ingredients of a perfect Czech Christmas?

TTo make sure, we asked another question: what is important for Christmas to become the perfect Christmas?

In this case, suddenly everyone remembers who they live with, and the “family together” takes the lead (94%). With 89%, the decorated tree takes 2nd place by a narrow margin. Potato salad (87%) and Christmas cookies (84%) follow. Add fairy tales and Christmas movies on TV (80%) to all of the above and you’re mostly done. These ingredients of a perfect Christmas are shared by all possible subgroups within the Czech population.

Be careful with a carp

To this holy Christmas five, you can add other ingredients of a perfect Christmas for specific subgroups. Christmas markets are mostly enjoyed by Czechs under the age of 44, then, with growing age, the interest drops considerably. Playing with a carp and its ritual eating is mainly enjoyed by Czechs over the age of 45 (and seniors the most). By the way, from the carp's point of view, the riskiest area is Southern Bohemia and Southern Moravia, where carp are eaten most often. On the other hand, bear in mind that you will charm just half of the youngest Czechs with a carp. And if you kill it right in front of them, you'll be called a true boomer.

What do young people like about Christmas are Christmas-themed movies and fairy tales. And as the global warming generation, what they want most is Christmas with snow. Well, it used to be.

And which one of you is the richest? *

One of the key symbols of Christmas is the family together but first, the family has to come into existence. So, here are some tips if you want to marry into a rich family and you don't want to wait and see whom this ”golden apple" rolls to*. All you have to do is to look around the household during Christmas.

The rule is simple, ask about the schnitzel. The more important the schnitzel is, the less wealthy the family! For 80% of the less wealthy families, schnitzel is an important symbol of Christmas, for the richest ones, it’s only 60%. Richer families also visit the cemetery less often at Christmas (maybe some resentments about inheritance?). If you're looking for an intellectual spouse, the golden rule of schnitzel will do here as well. The more important the schnitzel is, well, how to put it in a Christmas way, the more uncomplicated view of the world prevails in the given household (and vice versa). College-educated Czechs are also a little less eager for snow and cookies at Christmas.

* For non-native speakers, this is a quote from a famous Czech fairytale “Give the Devil His Due” (S čerty nejsou žerty).